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Tag: Anambra 2014

  • Five years without polio in Anambra

    Five years without polio in Anambra

    Do you have a stiff neck or back? Or do you have sensations of abnormal reflexes, or trouble with swallowing and breathing? You just might need a physician to run a lab test. It could be polio.

    But for five years, no such symptoms or conditions have been recorded in Anambra State, thanks to a comprehensive health plan of the state government.

    Two frontline international foundations run by two of the world’s greatest philanthropists, Dangote Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have set a target to wipe out polio in Nigeria by end of 2014. They are Chairman, Dangote Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Gates, made the promise in Lagos.

    Dangote said the rate of polio in Nigeria, which has now reduced to about 51 per cent, would be kicked out completely by the end of this year as a result of ongoing efforts by the two foundations.

    He said they have intensified campaign to make sure that children in the states where polio is prevalent are vaccinated. Dangote confirmed that they have been receiving support from northern leaders and that many families have agreed to get the vaccine.

    On his part, Mr. Gates said they are collaborating to wipe out polio in Nigeria because they believe it will help to improve the lives of people and move the economy forward.

    Gates further said that the security crisis in the Northeast, especially in Borno and Yobe states, is undermining the fight to eradicate polio in the country. He noted that a lot of problems still remained as some states do not pick up the best vaccines while others do not release money as and when due for the implementation of the campaign.

    President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has initiated a reward system that would encourage folks in rural areas to take part in the routine polio immunisation programme, in all the 44 local governments of Kano State.

    Dangote promised that women who present their children for immunization would be rewarded with free Dangote household products such as noodles, pasta and sugar. He also proposed a more regular meeting of the stakeholders to assess the strategy in order to accelerate the pace of progress recorded so far.

    The Dangote Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kano State Government had last November signed a Memorandum of Understanding to embark on strategies aimed at eradicating polio from the state. The partnership agreement also includes strengthening immunization as a core component of Primary Health Care (PHC).

    Minister of State for Health, Ali Pate, expressed satisfaction that Nigeria was on course to eradicating the disease, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that all the necessary funding be made available for the programme.

    In Anambra, Governor Obi said the state would remain polio-free as his government was determined to keep tackling health challenges of any form in the State.

    At the flag off of the Anambra state 2013 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) at the Primary Health Centre Uboma, Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Ikeakor explained that the objective of the NIPDs which is safe and free is to ensure that every child born in Anamabra State receives two potent oral polio vaccine, to sustain the interruption of wild polio virus in the state and to scale up delivery of other routine immunisation antigens and other child survival interventions.

    Dr. Ikeakor stressed further that the target population will receive OPV antigen for children from 0-59 months, BCG, DPT, HBV antigens for children under 1 year of age, measles and yellow fever vaccine for children of nine months of age and tetanus toxoid for pregnant women and women child bearing age, adding that special team will be employed to stay at strategic and transit positions to give OPV to children.

    Obi flanked by his wife Mrs. Margaret Obi, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Lady Henrietta Agbata, her lands counterpart, Barr. Chibuzor Okoli Akirika and some development partners said that Anambra State will be more aggressive in this year’s routine immunization to ensure that Anambra children are healthy.

    “We are here for polio immunization” Obi said. “We did it on quarterly basis last year but this year, it will be monthly because we want to be very aggressive to ensure that our people are healthy. Every child is important to us as we cannot afford to lose any of them as a result of ill health”. While his wife Mrs. Margaret Obi in an interview attested to the fact that Anambra is polio-free, she stressed the need to sustain the onslaught against the white polio virus in the state. Obi, accompanied by his wife, Margaret, daughter, Amaka kicked the exercise off by administering immunisation to many children. He said that he always tried to grace the campaign personally because children, who were the future of the society were concerned. He maintained that any society that neglected to take care of its children and the youth would suffer the consequences in future.

    The Governor who expressed happiness over the improvement in all health indices of the State, including the accreditation of major health institutions in the state that lost accredited before he took over Government, promised that he would not relent.

    Obi thanked those collaborating with the government in the fight against polio. His words:  ”We thank our partners – WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates, DFID, USAID, Red Cross, Rotary International, National Primary Health Care Development Agency and others for their contributions. We will continue to partner with them in our concerted effort to eradicate polio. Our commitment to achieving the MDGs and making our people healthy and happy is total.  Today, again, I wish to reaffirm our resolve”.

    The representative of Rotary Club, Rotarian Chika Ekwueme expressed happiness that for five years, Anambra has remained polio-free, which he attributed to the governor’s commitment to the people of the State and lauded the target of 2 million children for immunization during the Prof Amobi Ilika era as commissioner which the incumbent Dr Lawrence Ikeakor continued.

    Development partners, Dr. Rosemary Oyibe and Mr. Diden Gbofeyin who represented WHO and UNICEF respectively harped on the need to stamp out polio in Nigeria. Mr. Gbofeyin avvered that antigens will be used to boost their coverage and urged all stakeholders, community based organizations to make health facilities work while Dr. Rosemary maintained that eradication of polio in Nigeria is synonymous with eradication of polio in the world.

    Immunization of the children by Gov. Peter Obi and his wife, Margaret and distribution of long life insecticide treated net, soaps and biscuits to the parents of the children formed the highlight of the ceremony.

    Some parents, Mary Okoli, Monica Udebalu and Basilia Obiagha thanked the governor for performing the immunization exercise and for the gifts and assured him of their continued support for the polio campaign and prayers in the area.

    At another flag off at Atani, The Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Oseloka Obaze said the exercise should be embraced by all to promote the health of children.

    The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Austin Nnalue commended the mass turn-out by people for the programme and assured that the campaign will be sustained to keep polio away from the State.

    The Transition Committee Chairman, Ogbaru Local Government, Mr. Steve Chukwuma thanked the Governor for his determination to promote the health of  the people.

    Also speaking the Transition Committee Chairman, Ihiala Local Government Area, Mr. Chinedu Ukachukwu noted that the Governor has brought a new dawn in the health sector.

    Mr. Ukachukwu said the well equipped Primary Health Centre in various communities have given people easy access to healthcare facilities.

    Then transition Committee Chairman of Onitsha North, Barr. Egwuoyibo Okoye thanked Gov. Obi, and his wife for their choice of Nnewi South for this month’s flag off of while polio virus in the state. He commended the governor for his massive road construction in the area and assured him that Nnewi South will surely throw their weight behind his anointed candidate come this year’s governorship election in the state.

    These commitments to eliminate polio earned Obi an award as the best performing governor on the eradication of polio in the southeast from Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation at a massively attended ceremony at the Women’s Development Centre in Awka.

    Speaking while presenting the award to Gov Obi which went with a cash prize of N120 million, the minister of state for health, Dr Mohammad Bate said the award was not by chance as Gov Obi had distinguished himself in the health sector which he observed had resulted in the provision of ambulances to hospitals, accreditation of schools of midwifery and the wonderful partnership with the Church and described the Anambra example as a total package, noting that the state had remained polio free in the past five years.

    Responding, Obi thanked the minister for coming to the state to present the award on behalf of Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation and noted with satisfaction that it was not one of the awards anyone could suspect as having been bought and said the state government would match the N120m it received with another N180m which would be ploughed into the building of ten more health centres in the state.

    Recalling some of his strides in the health sector, he cited the state’s first teaching hospital as an example.

    ‘What happened was that the government of the day admitted medical students without a medical school in place and the assessors said they would not accredit the university but I pleaded with them when I came in to give me two or three years to put a teaching hospital in place but they could not believe me as they thought it impossible that a teaching hospital could be built in two, three years. It was one of them that pleaded with them to give me a chance and they did. When they returned at the appointed time they were shocked to see the teaching hospital in place. It has since become the fastest teaching hospital to be built in Nigeria,’ Obi stated to the applause of the packed audience.

    A member of the state legislature Hon Nikky Ugochukwu, congratulated the governor on his award and said it was expected, given his unprecedented achievements in office and also commended him for his youth friendly disposition.

    The two events were attended by top government functionaries, traditional rulers, student nurses and stake holders.

    And Obi announced that his government will use the money it won from being the best State in immunization programme in the South-East to build 10 maternities in remote parts of the State.

    Obi announced it during the flag-off of the National Obstetric Fistula Repair Programme at the Amaku Teaching Hospital, Awka.   He said that the State had matched the 1 million dollars monetary award with 120 Million Naira for the project.

    The Governor also flagged-off the fumigation exercise against mosquitoes in the State.  He said the exercise was part of the State Government programme towards elimination of malaria.  He called on the people of the State to corporate with those carrying out the fumigation exercise since it is for their own good.

    In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Anambra State University, Prof. Fidelis Okafor thanked the Governor for turning the State University ground.  He invited the people to visit the campus of the University at Igbariam and witness the transformation going on there.

    Already work has commenced the building of 10 maternity projects in 10 rural communities of Anambra State. The project which will cost N30m per one is partly funded by the N150m prize money Anambra State received by coming first in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation award as the best State in the South-East in immunization.   Anambra State Government is providing the rest of the money.

    The benefiting communities are:  Ugwuagba, Umuchu, Awba-Ofemili, Urum, Umueje,Umudioka, Isseke, Azigbo and Umunze.

     

  • Anambra 2014: Umeh reaches truce with Obi

    Anambra 2014: Umeh reaches truce with Obi

    Contrary to the general impression that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh and the Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, may fall apart again over the choice of the party’s governorship candidate in next year’s election, the two politicians have managed to find a common ground on the issue. Umeh allegedly agreed to support Obi’s anointed candidate, Willy Obiano, after what sources say was a hard fought negotiation between the duo. Whatever that means!

  • Anambra 2014: The candidates and electorate

    Election period is usually very much anticipated and expectations high, this applies to both developed and developing nations. The reason is simple; people always crave change irrespective of the conditions they currently live in. For those living in desperate situations, the desire for change is also desperate. The latter seem to apply to the present situation we live in, considering the high level of insecurity and mismanagement in the country. Until we realize this we may not do the right thing at the right time. Although the country’s democracy is still very young, it is not an excuse to continue to allow clueless politicians run the government else we head towards an imminent end to the fragile peace we currently enjoy.

    In a few months another governorship election would be held in Anambra State and up till this day we do not know all the candidates that are interested in the post. In more civilized countries, candidates would have shown interest and would have started campaigning. The electorates would have known the candidates and their manifestos. A date for an initial debate would have been fixed and the parties would have held their primaries or at least know all those that are interested. Anambra Lineage Forum has noticed the posters of some candidates within the state. Posters of Senator Chris Ngige, Walter Uba Okeke, Uche Ekwenefi, Afam Ogene, Mr Obi Obigbolu, Chief Mike Okoye, Chika Jerry, Dubem Obaze, who is current Secretary to the Anambra State Government and Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah are the only ones seen for now. Unlike the others, posters of Ubah were also seen in Yenagoa environs. Out of curiosity, Anambra Lineage Forum (ALF) with the slogan ‘massive ballot protection right’ is responsible for having Ubah’s posters in Bayelsa. ALF is not interested in whom or where the candidate is from but why he/she has your support. Thereafter questions like; are these candidates interested in contesting or are they being coaxed, is their support based on hitherto knowledge of the personality and his/her capacity to deliver on commitments. ALF is committed in ensuring that the right thing is done and that whoever emerges as the future governor is someone that can be trusted to deliver on his promises, someone that is steadfast and would not compromise. We also want to stress that interested candidates should make themselves known and a debate should be organized and coordinated by a competent body in other to assess the level of exposure and experience each have. That way the electorates would be rest assured they are voting for the right person.

    Chief Ndubuisi Elodimuo Chukwudi Okaigbo

    Chairman Secretary

  • Anambra 2014: ‘Ubah will boost Labour Party’s victory’

    Anambra 2014: ‘Ubah will boost Labour Party’s victory’

    Chief Sunday Akabueze, a chieftain of the Labour Party from Akama na Nansa Autonomous Community of Ihitenansa in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State, said in this interview with Emmanuel Udodinma that if the Anambra State chapter of the party nominates Chief Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah as its candidate in the 2014 governorship elections, it would be sure of victory

    You are not from Anambra State. You are from Imo State. So, why are you so much involved in the current search for the right candidate for 2014 the Anambra State governorship elections?

    The man I am proposing, Chief Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, is not for the people of Anambra State alone. He is a rare material, good for Ndigbo and Nigeria generally. Actually, I am from Imo State while he is from Anambra State, but irrespective of where I am coming from, God used this man from Anambra State to turn my life around positively. A lot of Ndi Anambra have also experienced and benefited from this man’s generosity. God has used him and is using him and will still use him to turn around the lives of many Ndigbo and Nigerians positively. He is a detribalised Nigerian. He doesn’t want to know where you are from. Be it Anambra, Imo or anywhere; it is not his business. He doesn’t want to know whether you are an Igbo man, Hausa man, Yoruba man etc. He believes in equity, justice and fairness and that is why many people from various states and tribes whom God has used this man to turn their lives around positively are saying he is good to govern Anambra State. If God can use him to bless people from different states and tribes as a private businessman, don’t you agree with me that, that same God will use him more as a governor? That is why we are championing his governorship bid in Anambra State, irrespective of the fact that we are not from there. All we are saying is that he is a new face to shape the old face of Anambra politics. Frankly speaking, as an Igbo man, we have been following the politics of Anambra State and I can tell you that Ifeanyi Ubah is the only aspirant in the current governorship race that has a new face and Anambra people need a man with a new face and there is no other person on the governorship race with a new face.

    Besides the fact that he impacted positively on your life, as you said, which other reason or reasons informed your conviction that Ubah is a good governorship material?

    I have known Chief Ifeanyi Ubah for some time now and have been following his transformation agenda right from his oil company, Capital Oil and Gas. It is this same agenda that he has promised to bring down to Anambra State in governance if elected as governor. I have therefore seen, believed and can confirm that this man, Ifeanyi Ubah, will be totally committed to the transformation of his dear state (Anambra). He promised it in his company, he practicalised it there. He is still doing it and he is hoping to translate it into governance in Anambra State. I believe him because he is a man who truly means what he says. The only thing he needs now is to be nominated by the Labour Party, and his candidature will certainly boost victory for the party at the polls.

    Don’t you think Ubah is too controversial to be nominated as a candidate for the governorship position in Anambra State of today?

    No, I don’t think so. Dr. Ubah that I know very well, who I am recommending to my great party and to the people of Anambra State, is a genuine and successful businessman, an oil magnate from Nnewi in Anambra State. He is a fulfilled man. He is a great organiser of men and women, an activist, a lead fighter for the rights of men and women, youths, and the under- privileged in Nigeria. He is equally a very strong, committed and spirit-filled Christian, a Catholic.

    The fear that some enlightened Anambra people have been expressing is that they do not want, as their next governor, a jobless opportunist, a ‘419ner’ scheming to embezzle the state funds. This is understandable and this is why people want a person like Ubah. With the assets of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd., which Ubah has unveiled to Anambra State people, the people are now not only satisfied with him but are also of the firm view that Ifeanyi Ubah is the man who God has prepared and positioned to save Anambra State from the ruin and maladministration of yesteryears.

    The good people of Anambra State do not need to search further or any longer, for the Messiah is here. They have found out from a recent tour he organised that Uba’s investment is huge, massive and outstanding. The facilities they saw included ships, jetties, depots, filling stations, tankers, and a host of others. They did not only learn that Uba’s Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited is one of the biggest distributors of petroleum products in Nigeria but also that the activities of the company in the area of supply of petroleum products is one of the reasons fuel is available everywhere in Nigeria today.

    This is because while other companies hoard fuel in order to make huge profits, Uba’s company is directed by him to ensure that the product is available to all and sundry. This is a good indicator of Ubah’s heart and his person. He is not just successful but caring and good. Many indigent students across the country are enjoying scholarships at all levels, courtesy of Ubah.

    He tars roads everywhere. His filling stations supply fuel free of charge to motorcyclists in Nnewi every Monday. He intervenes in all cases where poor people are being discriminated against or marginalised. He donates money throughout the federation in pursuit of worthy causes. He has also contributed immensely in the fight against poverty and diseases. His Capital Oil and Gas Company is at the forefront in the fight against HIV and AIDS. He has done marvellously well in curtailing the epidemic, especially in the south-west and the south-east.

    He is a committed Catholic who has contributed a lot to the church in Nnewi, the entire Anambra State and beyond.

    Given this enviable record, I know he will do more as a governor of Anamba State, so I will want my party to take advantage of this opportunity.

    His choice of LP as his party is excellent. This is because the Labour Party is a party with a new face just like Ifeanyi Ubah. They have one spirit and one mind.

    A core businessman, he is not bugged down by the traditional infirmities that affect professional politicians. So, I know that both him and the Labour Party have potentials and these are some of the positive attributes we, as a people, must look out for even in our badly messed- up political terrain. In Anambra, they are lucky for they have found such a man in Ubah.

    I recommend him to every Anambra man and woman that really wants significant improvement in the delivery of dividends of democracy to Anambarians.

  • Anambra 2014: Ngige, Ezeemo battle for ACN ticket

    •I can’t be deputy, Ezeemo insists

    •I’m still in the race, says former gov

    THE race for the governorship ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Anambra State thickened yesterday with the declaration of business mogul, Godwin Ezeemo, at the party secretariat.

    The declaration witnessed by several party supporters came as speculations were rife that the party executives might have adopted Ezeemo ahead of ACN’s leader in the state, Senator Chris Ngige.

    Until the declaration, Ngige, the senator representing Anambra Central, was the only candidate in the race.

    Ezeemo, publisher of Orient Daily newspaper and Orient News Magazine, reportedly rejected the offer of deputy governorship while answering questions from party officials.

    He said: “Deputy Governorship is good but from where I am coming from, I have been offered a ticket and I don’t want it.

    “This is because I will be a lone voice to some who came to make money when I will not change my views on some decisions based on pecuniary interests.

    ‘’A deputy governor is a spare tyre to be used at will when the main tyre is not functional. So, I don’t want deputy.”

    Asked if he would leave the party if he was not given the ticket, Ezeemo said: ’’This mission is not a do- or- die affair and I must not be a governor but I have volunteered to serve my people waiting for them to give me the power to serve them as the Executive Governor of Anambra State.”

    Charging the party to conduct a free and fair primary, the aspirant said: ‘’All I am asking for is for a free and fair primary that would be credible and seen to be so.

    “When candidates are handpicked for an election it is not always the best because that has been the problem of politics here.

    ‘’Primaries must be credible, free and fair. I remind you that I decided for the party long time ago to be part of it as a progressive whether I am contesting for governorship or not. But I don’t want to be deputy governor to anybody.”

    He pledged to tackle insecurity and unemployment with creation of jobs through the informal sector.

    Contacted, former Governor Ngige denied insinuations that he was no longer interested in the race.

    He said: ’’There is no truth in that rumour that I am not running for governorship election in Anambra State.

    “I am consulting but at the final stage, and from indications so far it looks very likely I will run for the gubernatorial election whenever INEC gives the go- ahead.

    ‘’I will speak to Anambra people very soon on the issue. Thanks.’’

    Anambra chairman of ACN, Chief AmechiObidike, welcomed the declaration of Ezeemo.

    He, however, denied the business mogul had been adopted, saying a candidate can only emerge after primary.

    According to him: ‘’We have not adopted any candidate for now because we need more aspirants to make the party interesting during primary. ‘’

  • Anambra 2014: Ngige, Ekwunife, Ubah begin mobilisation

    Ahead of the governorship election in Anambra State, there are four top contenders aspiring to succeed Governor Peter Obi. They have been campaigning across the 21 local government areas.

    The aspirants are former Governor Chris Ngige, who is representing the Central District in the Senate, House of Representatives member from the Anaocha,/Njikoka/Dunukofia Constituency Hon. Uche Ekwunife, Senator Andy Uba, and the businessman, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah.

    Ngige is contesting on the platform of the Action congress of Nigeria (ACN). Ekwunife and Ubah belong to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Uba is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Other light weight aspirants are playing hide and seek game. The only thing that shows that they are scheming for the position is that they are collecting chieftaincy titles in the communities.

    Ekwunife has set up her campaign teams in three local governments; Anaocha, Njikoka, and Dunukofia. She told our correspondent that the campaign teams for other councils would be inaugurated next week. The federal legislator has already branded her campaign vehicles.

    Also, Ngige has declared that he was battle ready. Already, the ACN senator had doled out over N300 million to his followers. He also gave the party and many supporters cars and money.

    Besides, Ngige and Ekwunife had held consultations with the traditional rulers in the 21 local governments on their ambitions. They said that since they would not contest the poll in the Diaspora, they had to be close to the communities.

    Ngige said: “It is operation totality and earth quake. I do not need any further introduction in the state and I believe in doing things early enough.”

    Ekwunife said: “My brother, delay is dangerous. Some of us who are close to our people should be able to tell them where we are going, what we are doing. I see no reason why I should be contesting election in Anambra and I will be staying in Abuja everyday. But I will love to attend to the sittings in the House of Representatives. That is the only thing to keep me there”.

  • Anambra 2014: Zoning not best option, says ex-commissioner

    Anambra 2014: Zoning not best option, says ex-commissioner

      Dr Mike Egbebuike was Commissioner for Environment in Governor Peter Obi’s administration. In this interview with ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU, he opposes the call for power shift to Anambra North Senatorial District in 2015.  

    It is being alleged that you want to be governor of Anambra- State. How would you react to the contention it is not the turn of Anambra Central to become governor?

    I have not said that I have the ambition to be the governor of Anambra State and I am also saying that being a governor is not beyond me.

    Then, on the issue of zoning, I leave that to the political parties. I have heard that the North were promised governorship if they support APGA and we heard also that the North never supported APGA and is not entitled to governorship.

    Other people also said that the North was promised governorship without condition. So, the answer lies with the political parties. But when PDP zones presidency, it was just PDP. Sometimes, zoning is a very good thing only when you are trying to protect these things between major large geographical regions but sometimes it can result to inefficiency. In countries like America, we don’t talk about zoning. If you are talking about zoning, you know that you don’t want to get the best because it always narrows one down.

    But if there are contracts made, that will be binding on those that made the promise. But whether zoning or not, the best thing is to ask God to give us the best leader, somebody that can follow on what Gov. Obi has started. We have to listen to God because who says that APGA has monopoly of winning that governorship race, APGA may end up bringing somebody from the zone and another party brings from the zone, the electorate is not interested in the zoning. But, if APGA has promised a particular zone, then, APGA is obliged to fulfill the promise they made. In contract law when you make a promise, you are bound to perform. But, I know my governor will always say, and I like to respect his opinion that the North has been promised the governorship race and if that is the case, we shall wait and see what God wants.

    Which means that if you are not given the ticket in APGA, you can switch to another party?

    I have not said that I want to contest for governorship, but I am actually saying that those contesting may not be better than me. We make mistakes when we don’t bring God into our decisions. I had the opportunity to understand my state in the past three years the way I never knew it. I have seen the problems and have also seen what could be done. It must not need to be done by me. It could be done by whoever God brings to be the governor because everybody cannot be governor. It could be people supporting the governor. There are people in Nigeria who contribute more than the people at the helm of affairs simply by their impacts.

    What are those problems you have observed and what are the answers to them?

    First of all, I believe that Nigeria is very corrupt and as long as we have that corruption, we can never progress. Then, one of the biggest problems is not knowing who we are, that is lack of identity. America works because every individual is known. If you give me a date of birth and social security number, an American will tell you precisely, who you are.

    If somebody has gone to jail or commits crime, America collects your finger print so that next time crime is committed, there is a better chance that it must be from the community of crime committers, so they can go back to their data base and pick somebody up. They do all these things because they have an identity system. But, here, we don’t even know who is a Nigerian or who is a Malian or who is Cameroonian. Everybody claims to be Nigerian. In fact, I went to school with somebody who claims he is a Nigerian but finally, he is from Cameroon.

    So we can stop crime in Nigeria with easy identity system. So, the only thing that will help us is to invest in technology. We talk about crime today but if we have proper technology, we can flush it out of the system. We are interested in building infrastructure which is good but the basic thing is not yet done. This country is operating without the skeleton. It has flesh but has no skeleton. If we are to look inwards and ask ourselves our age, nobody can now say. I could have up to 3 or 4 identity systems in Nigeria. So, how can we fight crime without knowing who the people are? I don’t even know how we got to where we are today because without identification system, American will not even be possible.

    So, that is what I think that should be done. I don’t even want to go to the bigger one that everybody sees like electricity and others because corruption has been the bane of everything. If Ghana has electricity, why can’t Nigeria have? There are many things to be done to turn this country around. I have not seen any police officer that is like Nigerian police. It is totally dysfunctional.

    So, there are basic things to be done to move the country forward. We don’t have to look at the big ones. Once we take care of the small basic ones, the big ones will fall in place. Nigeria is like a country without proper foundation. We are just floating. I am praying to God that this oil doesn’t finish and the Boko Haram doesn’t come again because if they do, we are probably not going to learn any lesson from that. If we don’t have proper I.D. system in this country, we can’t even collect taxes; half of the people are not paying taxes. The ones that are paying, pays for those that are not paying. Once they catch you, you pay for your own and the man who didn’t pay. If you withdraw 10, 000 Dollars in America, you get a letter and you are monitored.

    Are you in support of state police?

    When it comes to state police, I know there are fears people had about governors misusing the state police in the country by using them to intimidate their opponents. But the people saying that are actually indicting themselves because what they are actually saying is that the president today is using the police to intimidate his enemies. If the president is not using the federal police to intimidate the citizenry or his enemies, why should anybody argue that the state governor will use state police to intimidate his enemies?

    Let me take my governor, Mr. Peter Obi for instance, his enemies have been moving around with siren and he has the power to arrest them but he is not even interested to do that, even though the law has given him the power to do that. So, I don’t think he is going to do more than what he is doing today if given state police.

    So I don’t know why we are arguing. Governors are Chief Security Officers of states and you cannot be answering CSO when you are not. Its either we make the president the Chief Security Officer of states and the whole country and leave the governors alone. But if still address them as that, we need to make them in-charge of security. So that they can give instructions to the commissioner of police and he will listen to them. So, if governors were allowed to be in control of state police, it will bring a lot of changes, the insecurity issue will be a thing of the past. Now, all the governors from the north are blaming the president. What we need to do is to have state police and federal marshals like it is done in US so that federal interests are not put at stake. Some people ask how are they going to be paid. Well, the police today are still being paid, so the federal government can bring out the money they are paying them and give to states, so that they can pay them. Do you know how many vehicles Governor Obi has given to the police? How many of them do you see on the streets? So, we need to grow. The arguments we make today are the kinds of arguments we made in the fifties. Babangida made bold to say that Nigeria is ripe for state police. So, this is what true federation is and it will solve our security problems. The northern governors have all agreed that state police is the answer but after meeting with their emirs and religious leaders, they made a u-turn by saying that they don’t want state police and I wonder why they said that.

  • Anambra 2014: Gov Obi lauded for zoning governorship

    Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi has been hailed for zoning the governorship position in 2014 to the North Senatorial Zone in the state.

    Since the creation of the state in 1991, the zone has not produced the governor of the state, while the South and Central zones had produced six governors.

    Rising from a meeting yesterday in Awka, the ‘Forum 99’, a pressure group in the state, mainly members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said Obi had shown exemplary leadership for the decision.

    Governor Obi has been drumming support for the next governor of the state from the North which has gladdened the hearts of people like the Onitsha Monarch, Igwe Alfred Achebe and billionaire business man, Prince Arthur Eze.

    One of the organizers of the Forum 99, Amedu Udeoji, a two-time council chairman in the state, told The Nation yesterday that the only thing left for the people of the zone was to choose a credible candidate for the position.

    According to him, “Governor Peter Obi and other elder statesmen such as Prince Arthur Eze are only trumpeting the views of the generality of Anambrarians and the widespread support for the inclusion of zoning of the office of the governor. “This action has put a lie to those who had under pseudo names been writing and casting aspersions on Obi, who has been in the forefront of the campaign that Anambra people give support to the zone to have one of their own elected in 2014.”

    The group, however, urged the national leadership of PDP not to miss this golden opportunity to win back Anambra in 2014, as choosing a credible candidate from the north with a pan-Anambra posturing would surely achieve victory for the party.

  • Anambra 2014 and Okeke’s hallucinations

    Recently, one J.E Okeke wrote an offensive article titled “Why governor should come from Anambra North”. Offensive, not because it contains the intellectual barbs one expects from a serious writer; nay it rather offends because it offers no serious appeal to the truth nor facts about the matter

    raised.

    Nevertheless as a firm believer in the libertarian theory of the press, which notes that the sole method of arriving at the truth in the long run is by free competition of opinion in the opinion market

    and that the one that seems most rational will emerge and be generally accepted. This tenet thus necessitated this response.

    Okeke who claims to head the Anambra North Peoples Assembly, unfortunately hindered his own article via his opening statements which ran as thus “Not a few readers of The Nation on Sunday September 9, must have been thoroughly appalled at the interview granted by Senator Chris

    Ngige and his response to the question of agitation for the next governor to be of Anambra extraction.”

    Now even a year one student undertaking a general study course in philosophy and logic would

    obviously agree that Okekes scraggy opening comments is nothing but a fallacy of hasty generalization. True Mr. Okeke may have been appalled by the Ngige interview, in fact he is allowed to be appalled and has the freedom to be appalled, he may even lead a one-man protest and picket The Nation newspapers or NTA Onitsha, God knows that I do not have a problem with that, but if that is the case then he should have spoken for himself alone and not resort to numbers or a crowd he doesn’t have.

    Rambling further, he accused Senator Ngige of not understanding the agitation of Ndi Anambra North and of doublespeak since Ngige as a democrat candidly called for Ndi Anambra to collectively decide who would govern them come 2014 and at the same time questioned the notion or assumption that come 2014 it was the turn of the people of Anambra North since at no point in time did the people of the state collectively agree to zone the office of the governor to any zone.

    An unbiased fellow can obviously decode that there is no distinction between Ngige’s call for the people to choose their governor and the fact that Ndi Anambra at any level had never agreed to a zoning formula. In all spheres of our society the people have leaders who naturally represent

    their views or interests. These leaders act as a go-between their own people and other leaders from time to time. Most local governments and the senatorial zones have a coterie of able leaders, leaders who have the confidence of their people, but such leaders would agree that at no time has there been a discussion nor an agreement on the principle of zoning, had there been such an agreement then the likes of Joy Emodi and Chudi Nwike would have allowed Mbadinuju and contestants from Anambra South to jockey for the position of governor in 1999; no this was not the case as both aspirants on the platform of the All Peoples Party and the Alliance for Democracy contested and lost out to Dr.Chinwoke Mbadinuju.

    Again in 2003, 2007 and 2010, several aspirants from Anambra North filed out keenly to contest the primaries of their various parties and the elections proper. Amongst these aspirants were the likes of Okey Odunze, Alex Obiogbolu, Joy Emodi, Tony Nwoye, Emma Anosike, Benjamin Obidigbo and a host of others who slugged it out with the eventual winners of such elections. My question to Okeke is that if such an accord actually does exist, then the aforementioned aspirants should never have joined the fray to contest the position of governor. Surely, they would have held their peace and allowed for their turn as prescribed by the accord. Let’s assume that one of these candidates

    mentioned had won, would they have been stopped from taking the oath of office simply because a fictitious accord existed only in the minds of Okeke?

    Okeke’s assertion that the zone made a pact with the incumbent, Peter Obi and is a reason why the incumbent was declared winner in 2010 is in error and another shade of falsehood attempted, one

    emanating from his hallucinations, which naturally tends to backfire as it removes from the article whatever remained of its credibility. It is on this note that I advise Okeke to allow sleeping dogs to

    lie. Even if Governor Obi and the likes of Okeke had any agreements concerning 2014 after the robbery of 2010, pray how it is binding on me or other persons from Anambra state, since neither I nor my leaders were privy or party to such an agreement?

    Again Okeke entangles himself in his own labyrinth when he advocates “that from debates grow a better understanding of issues confronting a nation”. One is then forced to wonder why he is then against Ngige’s call for an agreement by leaders of the state concerning the issue of zoning, or is Okeke trying to be clever by half?

    Finally why is Ngige central in all of these arguments? Surely he is yet to declare for the office as he is presently rather concerned with his present mandate as a senator representing the people of Anambra Central. Again, he is not the only politician to have spoken on the zoning matter; others like Soludo, Ukachukwu, Andy Uba, Ifeanyi Ubah, Victor Umeh and Obinna Uzor have also aired their views on the issue. Okeke seems to have been blinded, deafened and dumb to the statements credited to those mentioned above but it seems that there is a “His name is John” effect when Ngige is involved. Perhaps there is then more to this than being about it being the turn of the people of Anambra North, a script driven by the fear of Ngige designed by self-seeking politicians with the purpose to deny Anambra the best in leadership.

    This we must resist in its entirety as it is nothing but undemocratic in all ramifications. The 2014 elections should be left for Ndi Anambra to decide. Let us allow the people to lead!

    • Igboeli Arinze writes from Awka

  • Anambra 2014: It is Anambra North or revolution, says Rep

    Anambra 2014: It is Anambra North or revolution, says Rep

    The member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Hon Afam Ogene, yesterday vowed to lead a civil disobedience march if Anambra North senatorial zone is not allowed to produce the next governor in 2014.

    Addressing political actors in a monitored media talk show in Awka, Ogene said he would do whatever it will take to fight the injustice against the people of Anambra North.

    According to him: ‘’I will lead a civil disobedience  in this state to fight the injustice of denying us from Anambra North an opportunity to govern our state after all the appeals.

    “Equity and fairness demand that somebody from Anambra North be given a fair chance of governing this state.”

    He added: ‘’Political offices must go round. It will be absurd for two political zones to continue to enjoy what belongs to the three zones of the state.

    “Anambra is 21 years old now and time has come for somebody from Anambra North to be Governor of Anambra state.

    The legislator also said: ‘’No Anambra North citizen will take the Deputy Governorship position from anybody.

    “We are serious about our agitation to govern Anambra state come 2014 and we are not kidding.”